Oskar Osala (born 26 December 1987) is a Finnish former professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice ...

player Player may refer to: Role or adjective * Player (game), a participant in a game or sport ** Gamer, a player in video and tabletop games ** Athlete, a player in sports ** Player character, a character in a video game or role playing game who is ...

. He played in three

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey sports league, league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranke ...

(NHL) games with the

Washington Capitals The Washington Capitals (colloquially known as the Caps) are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference, a ...

and

Carolina Hurricanes The Carolina Hurricanes (colloquially known as the Canes) are a professional ice hockey team based in Raleigh, North Carolina. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conferenc ...

and represented Finland in Olympic Winter Games 2018.

Playing career

He started his career with

Vaasa Vaasa (; sv, Vasa, , Sweden ), in the years 1855–1917 as Nikolainkaupunki ( sv, Nikolajstad; literally meaning "city of Nicholas),

-based

Sport Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, ...

. He made his North American debut with the OHL's Mississauga IceDogs in 2005, and was drafted 97th overall in the fourth round of the

2006 NHL Entry Draft The 2006 NHL Entry Draft was the 44th NHL Entry Draft. It was held at General Motors Place in Vancouver, British Columbia, on June 24, 2006. The draft order for the first 14 picks was decided during a lottery held on April 20, 2006. The draft was ...

by the

. In the 2007–08 season, he returned to Finland where he played for the

Espoo Blues The Espoo Blues were an ice hockey team in the SM-liiga. They played in Espoo, Finland, at the Espoo Metro Areena. The club went bankrupt at the end of the 2015–16 Liiga season. History The club was established in February 1984 as Kiekko-Espoo ...

of the

SM-liiga The SM-liiga (marketed as just Liiga from 2013 on), (Finnish for ''League'') colloquially called the Finnish Elite League in English or FM-ligan in Swedish, is the top professional ice hockey league in Finland. It is one of the six founding leagu ...

; made his debut with the senior national team; and was named SM-liiga rookie of the year. Osala signed a three-year contract with the Capitals in June 2008, and was assigned to Washington's AHL affiliate in Hershey. On 10 December 2008, Osala made his NHL debut replacing the injured Tomáš Fleischmann in the Caps' 3-1 win over the

Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team has been in existence since 1924, making ...

, playing two games before being returned to the Bears. Osala finished the season with the

Hershey Bears The Hershey Bears are a professional ice hockey team based in Hershey, Pennsylvania, a town located 14 miles east of the state capital of Harrisburg. The current Bears club has played in the American Hockey League since the 1938–39 season maki ...

Calder Cup The Calder Cup is the trophy awarded annually to the playoff champions of the American Hockey League. It was first presented in 1937 to the Syracuse Stars. The cup is made of sterling silver mounted on a base of Brazilian mahogany. In its curr ...

winning team, scoring two goals in Game 1 of the Calder Cup Finals. On 3 March 2010, Osala was traded with Brian Pothier to the

for Joe Corvo. Osala made a brief NHL appearance with Carolina shortly after the trade, but spent most of the remainder of the season with the

Albany River Rats The Albany River Rats were a minor league professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League. They played in Albany, New York, Albany, New York (state), New York at the Times Union Center. History Before the formation of the franchise Wi ...

. Unable to find a role with the Hurricanes and subsequently assigned to AHL affiliate the

Charlotte Checkers The Charlotte Checkers are a minor-league professional ice hockey team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the American Hockey League (AHL), and are the top minor league aff ...

for the duration of the following season, Osala signed a one-year contract with Russian team Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk of the

Kontinental Hockey League The Kontinental Hockey League (KHL; russian: Континентальная хоккейная лига (КХЛ), Kontinental'naya khokkeynaya liga) is an international professional ice hockey league founded in 2008. It comprises member clubs ba ...

(KHL) on 25 May 2011. On 10 December 2013, during the 2013–14, his third with Neftekhimik, Osala was traded to division competitors

Metallurg Magnitogorsk Metallurg Magnitogorsk (russian: Металлург Магнитогорск) is a professional ice hockey team based in Magnitogorsk, Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia. They are members of the Kharlamov Division of the Kontinental Hockey League. They ...

. He contributed 6 assists in the post-season to help Metallurg claim their first

Gagarin Cup The Gagarin Cup (russian: Кубок Гагарина, Kubok Gagarina) is the trophy presented to the winner of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) playoffs, and is named after Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, the first human in space. The Cup was ...

. Osala played 5 seasons with Metallurg, which won a second Gagarin Cup in the 2015–16 campaign, before opting to leave the KHL following the 2017–18 season. Citing a lack of drive, Osala sat out the beginning of the 2018–19 season as a free agent. On 12 November 2018, Osala opted to end his hiatus and agreed to a one-year contract for the remainder of the season in returning to his homeland with Oulun Kärpät of the top flight Liiga.

International play

Osala shared the goal scoring title in 2007 IIHF World Junior Championships. Osala scored five goals in six games for

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bot ...

, sharing the lead with four other players.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Awards and honors

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Osala, Oskar 1987 births Albany River Rats players Carolina Hurricanes players Charlotte Checkers (2010–) players Espoo Blues players Finnish expatriate ice hockey players in Russia Finnish expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Finnish ice hockey left wingers HC Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk players Hershey Bears players Living people Metallurg Magnitogorsk players Mississauga IceDogs players Ice hockey players at the 2018 Winter Olympics Olympic ice hockey players of Finland Oulun Kärpät players Sportspeople from Vaasa Vaasan Sport players Washington Capitals draft picks Washington Capitals players